2 architects buy Erie's Rothrock Building

Erie architects Jeff Kidder, left, 48, and Chip Wachter, 36, of Kidder Wachter Architecture & Design, were photographed outside the Rothrock Building, located at 121 W. 10th St. in Erie on June 28. The pair plan to manage and develop the building for office space and commercial use. The office building, erected in 1961, is "the perfect platform for modernization," Kidder said. SHANE FLANIGAN/ERIE TIMES-NEWS

The vacant and dilapidated Rothrock Building, which once bustled with office workers at 121 W. 10th St., has new owners with a plan to restore it.

Architects Jeff Kidder and Chip Wachter, of Kidder Wachter Architecture & Design, bought the four-story, 28,208-square-foot building earlier this month. They are ready to search for commercial tenants and update the Rothrock Building, which was erected in 1960.

"It is the perfect platform for modernization," Kidder said.

The building fell into disrepair several years ago. City code enforcement officials determined that it was operating as an illegal flophouse in 2007.